The Long Road
by Al Evans
Summary: Peter Parker is dead set on seeing a certain special lady in his life, but life seems to be determined to get in his way.


Peter Parker made his way through the bustling newsroom as fast as he could.

"Hey Pete." Called out a familiar friendly voice.

"Hi Betty."

"How're you? How was the assign-"

Peter didn't even slow down, merely calling over his shoulder. "Sorry. Don't wanna be rude Betty, but I'm kinda in a rush. I've got an appointment with a certain lady I don't wanna let down."

"Well, so much for being friendly." Said Betty in a huffy voice. Peter did stop at this and turned around only to see that she'd stormed off. He sighed and continued on his way, finally reaching the office of Joe Robertson.

After making pleasantries and handing over his photos, Peter waited impatiently as Robbie looked through his pictures. Despite himself, he couldn't suppress a yawn.

"Am I boring you?" Asked Robbie. Peter's cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"Sorry, Robbie. I'm just kinda tired from the plane ride."

Robbie leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow. "You know you didn't have to catch the _very_ first flight you could. Scotland's a long way away. I think even Jonah would've understood if you'd gotten some shut eye after you're assignment and flown back this morning."

"Yeah, but he isn't complaining I made it back here in time for the evening edition. I could tell because he didn't say anything more colourful than 'What're you hanging around here for? Get out there and get back to work!'"

Robbie sighed deeply. "Jonah will never change. He's old school. Trust me, insisting his photographers deliver pictures by hand is the least of his 'flaws'. I'm just sorry you didn't go home first."

"Truth be told, I needed to come into the city anyway. I got a delivery to pick up from here."

"What kind of delivery?"

"A necklace from this little Scottish village. Mary Jane has one from our second Honeymoon there. May took a real shining to it recently so I got her one for her birthday. I tried to send it over so it'd arrive before today, but then the mooks delivering it messed up and sent it to Manhattan and not Forest Hills."

"I forgot it's May's birthday tod- Ah...you caught an earlier flight so you could see her today."

Peter held up his hands in mock confession. "You got me Robbie."

Robbie smiled. "Well, don't keep her waiting." He gestured towards the door. "Take care son. And give her my love."

With that Peter waved goodbye and headed out. It was 15:30. Plenty of time to get May's present and get home. And being tired as he was, Peter thought he'd actually trust in public transport for a change rather than using his own unique method of travel. He might get home a little later than he would otherwise, but it would still leave plenty of time before May usually hit the sack.

However, as if to mock him, Peter arrived at the elevator just a second too late and it left without him. He turned to check the other one, only to remember just then that it was out of order. He hit the call button and stepped back to wait for the working elevator to return.

Observing the lights above the doors he saw it had gone just one floor down. But just as his spirits perked up...the elevator went down to the next floor...And then the next...And then the next...

After almost five minutes (in which Peter had been joined by several Bugle employees) the elevator hit the ground floor and began its ascent back up the Bugle. However it barely made it two floors up before stopping and then resuming its methodical journey one floor at a time. Stubbornly, (and still tired from the flight) Peter continued to wait, refusing to take the long climb down the stairs or head up to the roof and begin swinging his way across down. If nothing else he didn't want to risk getting distracted by some crisis he might encounter along the way.

Finally, another five minutes later, the elevator reached Peter's floor. Peter slightly tensed himself, ready to get into the carriage before the dozen or so Bugle employees that now surrounded him swarmed in. But just as the door opened...

" _Peter!_ "

Peter whipped round at the sound of his name and came face to face with Betty.

"Hey, look Pete I'm sorry I got ticked off on you earlier. Robbie reminded me about May and I should've realized you'd be in a rush."

Peter's frustrated features softened, "Ah, water under the bridge Betts." He gave her a friendly pat on the arm.

"Well, I gotta get back to work." Betty began to turn away and head off, briefly waving back. "Wish May a happy birthday from me."

"Will do Betts. Catch you...later?" Turning around Peter saw metallic doors shut together in his face as the elevator began another descent.

Checking his watch and seeing it was 16:05 Peter concluded the stairs would've been quicker after all. Especially since he'd taken most of them when the elevator, like its companion, had stopped working a mere three floors down. At that moment though, he was just thankful for getting out at all, not to mention that he'd packed very light for his assignment and could carry his luggage in a large rucksack.

It took Peter another twenty minutes to locate the delivery place where the necklace was being held...And another twenty to get in the right line...And another twenty to sort out all the necessary paper work...

Finally Peter emerged with the necklace wrapped up in his pocket. He was feeling genuinely exhausted now, as though he'd gone a few rounds with the Rhino (just about the last person he wanted to see right now). He spent a while hailing a cab but finally snagged one, directing it towards Forest Hills Queens.

17:30 had come and gone, but there was still plenty of time to see May. And in the meantime Peter could relax on the journey home. In fact, he was so tired his eyes began to droop. The last thing he saw before nodding off was a bill board advertising some perfume called 'Emma Rose', the bottom right corner of which had been torn, obscuring half the model's face.

* * *

After a particularly loud honk from a car horn, Peter awoke with a start. He noted blearily that it was now 18:02 and that he was stuck in a traffic jam. He shrugged nonchalantly. He'd be home soon enough, so what was a little traffic jam en route? He lay back in his seat, his heard turned towards the window. Closing his eyes again, he just caught the blurred outline of another bill board advertising the same perfume...

Two seconds later he sat bolt upright and looked back at the billboard. Its bottom right corner was torn, and he couldn't see half of the model's face.

Comprehension hit him like a freight train.

"What's going on pal!?" He yelled at the driver. "We've barely moved!"

"Some kind of filming or dispute is going on up ahead. Everything's stopped."

" _Arghhhh!_ " Peter gathered up his rucksack and prepared to head for the door.

"Hey! Cash man!" Called the driver. Peter hastily threw a bill at the driver and leaned towards the door. "You kidding me?" Peter looked back at the driver then at the display of his fare. He groaned handing over far too much for a trip which had taken him barely half a mile.

Having gotten to the sidewalk Peter frantically got his bearings and headed towards the nearest subway. Cursing himself for having not done this from the start he headed towards the appropriate platform and waited. Thankfully a train arrived pretty quickly. Not so thankfully it was so full that he'd have a tough time squeezing in when the passengers on board disembarked. It was a problem he didn't have to deal with however as apparently none of the passengers were interested in actually leaving the train just then.

18:20.

The next train thankfully had some space for Peter and, rucksack in tow, he manoeuvred himself into a carriage. Peter breathed easy...for about fifteen minutes. That was when an announcement sounded out, alerting the passengers that some accident had caused all trains to be stopped at their nearest stations until further notice. Peter plodded his way topside disbelieving that even _his_ legendary bad luck could be quite this bad.

Seeing it was now almost 18:45 he relented at last. Heading into an alley way he changed into his Spider-Man outfit, secured his rucksack and hit the skyline. He was tired for sure, but now he was more frustrated than anything.

Most of his day had been eaten up already and he'd wanted more than just an hour or two with May before it got late. It wasn't fair. Not for him but especially not for her. She thought the world of Peter and adored his company. And for his part May meant the whole world to him. The thought of her had kept him going through a lot of tough times he'd had to deal with over the years. She couldn't know how much he really cared for her, or how deeply it hurt him to not spend more time with her due to his 'work'.

Still, at least he'd get to see May today and deliver her present in person. Someone as wonderful as her deserved that much from him at the very least. And at the pace Peter was going it looked like she was going to get just that. Provided there weren't any-

"OH MY GOD! HELP US! PLEASE HELP US!"

-distractions.

Spidey whipped his head round and saw black smoke billowing from a building ahead of him and a couple of blocks to his left. He made his way there and saw a blazing inferno, and a teenage girl screaming from a window near the top.

He threw off his rucksack, depositing it on a nearby roof and leapt into action.

* * *

"Thank you! God bless you Spider-Man."

Peter had lost count of how many people he'd helped the fire fighters evacuate from the building. Thirty at the very least he reckoned. He'd mainly worked the upper floors no one else could reach, dousing the flames with liberal amounts of webbing as he went about his work.

He waved off the grateful woman who'd thanked him, and turned to one of the fire fighters.

"Anyone else?"

"Nope." She replied. "That was everyone. Hey, thanks again man. Without you we-"

"Don't mention it. You got the time?"

His abruptness had taken her aback, but she replied all the same. "Last I checked it was 19:20...but I think that was like 10 minutes ago."

" _Ohhhhhhh..._ " Groaned Spider-Man. "Hey, you guys think you have it from here?"

"Oh sure. Why? You got some-" But Spidey had already turned around and swung off.

He snatched up his rucksack and began a series of particularly long leaps and bounds across the rooftops, making up for lost time.

About fifteen minutes later though he noted an alarm blaring below him and saw two men run out of a dime store and onto a motorcycle, their guns pointing at whoever was still in the store. Spidey switched direction and pursued them. He only got about a block before running out of webbing and had to use some canopies and flagpoles to break his fall. He fumbled around his belt for some spare cartridges before realizing he was all out, though there were spares in his rucksack...somewhere.

Without thinking and seeing the criminals continuing to flee, Spidey hit the ground and began running after them.

Whilst his super human physiology meant that his sprints and leaps could keep up with the motorcycle, it was certainly slower than if he'd taken the time to find his spare cartridges. That being said once he caught up with the punks knocking them out was a relatively quick affair. It actually took more time to find his cartridges, load them into his web-shooters and web the goons up.

Barely registering the applause he was receiving from the surrounding onlookers, Spidey repacked his rucksack and once more swung away.

20:05.

May had stayed up later than usual on her birthdays before, especially on the weekends. Hopefully this year would be the same, so if he just really put on the speed he'd be there before-

"Help!"

"Run!"

"This can't be happening."

" _WHAT!_ " Screamed Peter.

"What is it now huh?! A plane crash? An alien invasion? A kitten stuck in the tree? _What else could I possibly have to deal with today!?_ "

That was when he saw Rhino stomping around on the ground.

* * *

At 21:00 Peter wasn't sure if he'd ever been more glad to see the Parker Family home where he, Aunt May and Uncle Ben had spent many great years. He held no delusions that anyone was still awake but after all he'd been through reaching the house was as much about principle as May's present.

Peter whole body ached with tiredness as he walked up the street towards the house. He'd managed to evade Rhino's blows and subdue him but the weight of the battle, the robbery, the fire, the web-swinging, the plane flight, the train accident and the cab journey had all taken its toll on him.

He was so tired in fact that he didn't immediately notice the lights on in the house as he climbed the porch. Or for that matter, the voices emanating from inside as he fished for his keys.

When he did though, it was as if a bolt of electricity had shot through him. He listened closely to the voices from inside the house. One of them was definitely Mary Jane's, and the other was...So it wasn't too late after all!

He dumped his rucksack at the side of the door, smartened himself up as best he could, and rang the door bell.

Moments later Mary Jane opened the door. She looked surprised when she saw Peter, but managed to keep a straight face, catching on when he quickly put his finger to his lips.

"Well, look who it is." She said over her shoulder. She stood aside and opened the door fully, giving a full view of Peter. He gave a friendly wave and the warmest smile of his life.

"Hey pretty lady. Sorry I'm late."

May gasped. Peter strode into the house and scooped her into a tight hug, one that she all too eagerly returned.

"You're here! But I thought you couldn't come until tomorrow?" Her face was aglow with delight and it made Peter forget all about his fatigue.

"I wasn't gonna miss my favourite gal's big day was I? Speaking of which, I might just have something for you. That is if you could score me a date with your cute friend?"

He winked at Mary Jane. She flashed him a smile worthy of the red carpet.

"I think she already likes you anyway." Laughed May.

"Well in that case."

Peter reached into his pocket and handed over the present.

"Happy birthday."

May curiously unwrapped the present and gasped again when she laid eyes on the necklace. For a moment or two she just stared transfixed at it. Finally, she was snapped out of her trance by MJ who gave a knowing little cough and gave May a knowing look before nodding her head towards Peter.

At this, May promptly hugged Peter again and planted an affectionate kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you... Daddy!"


End file.
